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Total War (cont.)

Not much room to maneuver

Both sides exchange volleys

General von Clausewitz attacks the center of my line with the bulk of his infantry. With my cannon on the flanks he knows this is his best chance to break my line and the fight at the center comes down to a bloody melee with bayonets. Though they suffer horrible losses, my men there do not break and fight on for their beloved General Kutusov as they would for no other general, for Kutusov is a Hero of the Army. To a man they die as good Russian soldiers must - facing the enemy. With the center collapsed, the Russian wings turn inwards and catch the Prussians in a crossfire that no man can stand for long. Soon enough the Prussians all lie dead on the field as they too chose to die for their general rather than quit the field. Though supporting Prussian general Gebhard von Blücher is wounded in the fight and whisked away to the safety of Berlin, the fate of von Clausewitz is unknown. His army has ceased to be, but somehow I doubt this is the last time he will tangle with Russia.

"The power which money gives is that of brute force; it is the power of the bludgeon and the bayonet."

The day has arrived where Trubachev can gain his vengeance. The 38-gun frigate named in his honor has left the slipway and now sails the Black Sea looking for Ottoman sailors to haunt. They shall soon fear the name Trubachev again, as they once did two years ago when he sowed destruction deep in their lands. No merchant vessel shall be spared his wrath!

Winter is Coming

Early December 1806

Once again my gentlemen scholars have discovered a new way to improve the empire. They have designed a new way of supplying and maintaining the army in the field, which they have named logistics. A system of supply houses to store weapons and ammunition will allow my armies can march more efficiently.

With General Kamensky remaining in Breslau the Prussians have decided to march on Warsaw. Though there are few defenders there, the Prussians have to endure harsh winter conditions as they besiege the city and attempt to starve my people into submission. The Russian people are made of stern stuff and shall not be cowed so easily. Let the Prussians freeze to death in their camps, they are few enough in number to be of no major concern and will be fewer still as the snow piles up around them.

Further to the south in more temperate lands, the Austrians have marched against General Buxhoewden in Budapest yet again. Buxhoewden wins the fight without too much loss to his own strength. When will the Austrians learn that their resistance is futile? Soon enough I shall take Vienna and hold it once and for all. That ought to put an end to the Austrians' delusions of pushing me back.

The Russian defenders are well entrenched

Soon the sun will set on the Austrian army

Late December 1806

The frigate Trubachev has come across two Ottoman dhows trading furs off the coast of Trebizond. The Ottoman ships have been sent to the briny bottom with little difficulty and now the Black Sea is free of enemy ships. In time Russian merchantmen will ply these shipping lanes, laden with furs to strengthen the Russian economy.

Early January 1807

A trading port has been constructed in Sevastopol, Little Tatary. From here merchant ships will be launched into the Black Sea and beyond to bring riches from faraway lands to add to the coffers of the mighty Russian Empire.

Year Three

Late January 1807

The brave people of Warsaw have risen up and fought off the army outside the gates. The fight was long and hard, as the majority of my men were untrained rabble, yet still the Prussian invaders were defeated. During the fight their general Johann von Thielmann was slain, no doubt taking his own life in shame at having been defeated by civilians.

Early February 1807

The frigate Nabokov, sister ship to Trubachev, has been launched from the Burgas Dockyards. Together they shall terrorize the Mediterranean in the name of Russia. Just as she was completed an Ottoman army marched towards Burgas, no doubt in an attempt to destroy her before she was completed. They failed as they were too slow; perhaps if they knew as much about logistics as Russia they have have been in time. Failure cannot be said of General Kutusov, who marched south to intercept the Ottomans before they could cause trouble.

The Ottomans were defeated without incident, as is Kutusov's wont to do. This victory over the Ottomans has earned Kutusov the reputation of a glorious general, his men willing to march into Hell itself on his orders for he always gives them victory. Truly I could ask for no greater man to lead the Russian Empire to victory.

Year Three (cont.)

Having had enough of Austrian audacity, General Buxhoewden has captured Vienna once again. This time he will hold onto it until the Viennese people are cowed into submission. The Austrian nation is now split in two by Buxhoewden, so no doubt they will make many attempts to retake the city and reunite their lands. Much looting has happened, to the chagrin of the Austrian people. It was unfortunately necessary as once again the Russian coffers were running dry.

Vienna is looted once again

With Austria joining my previous conquests, the Russian Empire has grown to a truly fearsome size and now matches the rest of Europe combined. That these quarrelsome nations have yet to band together to resist me only shows their lack of intelligence.

Homestretch

Late February 1807

The merchantman Pavel

Trubachev and Nabokov have encountered a large contingent of Ottoman ships in the Aegean Sea. With nary a scratch to themselves, they sank seven vessels and captured two dhows and a brig. The brig Tursun Osman is immediately dispatched to Burgas for repairs, while the dhows Faouish and Masudiya are sent to the trade lanes of the Black Sea. To complement them the merchantman Pavel, recently built at Sevastopol, is also sent to trade in furs.

left: The captured brig Tursun Osman right: dhow pressed into service

With unrest rising in Austria once again, General Buxhoewden's spies report that the Austrian-held city of Olmütz is lightly defended. Leaving no one to defend Vienna from the growing mob, he strikes out for Olmütz and his destiny.

Victory!

General Buxhoewden captures Olmütz with little trouble, making the size of the Russian Empire total twenty five regions, thus achieving the last of my objectives for the campaign. Tsar Aleksandr I has reached his goal of becoming a man to be feared around the word, a true Imperial Psychopath.

Thanks for reading, it has been quite the experience! I was starting to get a little burned out by the end, but I had this week off from work (happy birthday America!) so I ended up playing quite a lot of the game. Now Nappy has been uninstalled and Shogun 2 is downloading. I've been waiting to play this for a long time; I'm considering doing an AAR for it but sometimes it's just more fun to jump in and play. Maybe once I've played it some I'll see if there's any hard or unusual achievement to strive for and I'll do an AAR about that attempt.

Yeah, congratulations. Great success! Right now I am trying to get into Shogun 2 (my first Total War game), but I find it really hard to grasp how everything is supposed to work and find it difficult to keep track of all the stuff going on. The tutorial isn't a great help either. Maybe I just should dive into the campaign and see how it goes.

Thanks again for the kind comments all. Although at the end it felt like I was starting to steamroll (as Total War campaigns are wont to do) I have retained my save file in case I ever decide to revisit Tsar Aleksandr's Russian Empire. Who knows, maybe I'll go for the achievement for having three maximum rated generals at once. General Kutusov has got to be close, being a Hero of the Army and all that jazz.

I'm finding when playing Shogun 2 I miss the firearms and will probably have more fun playing battles in Fall of the Samurai. I've played one battle so far and I have to say those Armstrong guns are fierce! There's just something immensely satisfying about firing cannon into massed infantry. Shogun 2 does have a huge improvement in the AI though, that's for sure.